Puss in Boots (2011)
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 Pray for mercy.
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Puss in Boots is a 2011 American 3D computer-animated action-adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures.
The character of Puss in Boots originated in a European fairy tale in 1697, and the film is a spin-off and prequel to the Shrek franchise. The film was released in theaters on October 28, 2011, in Digital 3D and IMAX 3D. Puss in Boots received positive reviews from critics, and was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 84th Academy Awards. A television series spin-off from the film titled The Adventures of Puss in Boots premiered on Netflix in 2015 and continued until 2018. A sequel titled Puss in Boots 2: Nine Lives & 40 Thieves was scheduled for release in 2018, but was removed from the studio's schedule in early 2015.
On November 6, 2018, it was reported by Variety that Chris Meledandri had been tasked to revive both Shrek and Puss in Boots, with the original cast potentially returning.
On March 18, 2021, DreamWorks Animation confirmed a second movie called Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which was released on December 21, 2022.
Plot
Long before meeting Shrek, Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) -- just named a hero for saving a woman from a charging bull -- is run out of town on suspicion of bank robbery, even though the real villain is Puss' friend, Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis). Though there is still animosity between them, Puss and Humpty reunite to steal a goose that lays golden eggs. Joining them for the adventure of nine lifetimes is notorious cat burglar, Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek).
Why It Doesn't Need To Pray for Mercy
- Beautiful and flawless animation for DreamWorks standard.
- Much like other characters in the franchise, it is about one of the most popular Shrek characters (Puss) who gets his own spin-off film.
- We also get to learn more about Puss' backstory.
- Likable characters with well-done character development.
- Creative storyline that does serve for its real purpose as a spin-off of Shrek series.
- Henry Jackman delivers a very well composed score.
- It introduces us to Kitty Softpaws, who is an interesting character and a nice love interest for Puss.
- Chris Miller’s direction is better in this movie than in Shrek the Third.
- Jack and Jill are really entertaining villains.
- A decent amount of funny and serious moments.
- Puss and Kitty share a beautiful, well-done relationship.
- Humpty Dumpty is a nice developed character.
- The film has a nice set of being a Mexican Western-theme.
- The new characters are well-introduced about how they’re significant to the film.
- Miraculous voice acting, especially from Antonio Banderas who reprises his role as the titular character from the Shrek films.
- Surprisingly, even Puss's voice actors from dubs reprised their roles; Brazilian Portuguese, French, Dutch, and German. Additionally, in both the Latin Spanish and Italian dubs of the film, Puss was dubbed by Banderas, the original voice actor.
Bad Qualities
- False advertising: In the main trailer of the film there are several dialogues that imply that Jack and Jill have a weapon capable of destroying the world, which is implied that they are magic beans, this in the film is never mentioned, since in it is explained that the magic beans guide you to a treasure that is the golden goose.
- It is also worth mentioning that in the second trailer he discredits what was seen in the first trailer by revealing the true plot of the film.
- In the first trailer there is a scene where Kitty fights with the guards on a rooftop this scene never appears in the movie.
- Plot holes, like how did Humpty get the entire town of San Ricardo to believe him that Puss was the culprit for robbing the bank when it was really his fault for robbing the bank and Puss was only working as his assistant?
- Though it is likely that the townsfolk of San Ricardo along with the guards know Humpty already served his time in prison, thus they would think Humpty learned his lesson.
- The setting of the film itself seems inconsistent when you consider that this is a spin-off of Shrek, which takes place in the medieval times, but this film takes place in the Mexico from the 19th century, but it takes place before Shrek 2...so what?
- However, its possible that the Puss in the film was most likely a future descendant.
- The humor is a mixed bag, as the film focuses more on the adventure than the comedy.
- In the same way that Shrek Forever After has adult or inappropriate dialogue, such as "How am I going to shoot carrying a baby on my back", "We would steal a lot of eggs", "Can you imagine laying one of these eggs ", or the very cheeky "Show him the eggs".
- Although the animation is wonderful, like Shrek Forever After there are notorious moments where the backgrounds (like the town of San Ricardo, the castle of the Giant, the desert and the canyon) are similar to that of a video game.
- In turn, the background characters lack movements or facial expressions.
- Although it doesn't have a nasty color palette like Shrek the Third, it repeats a lot of white, dark blue, natural yellow, purple, orange, and light blue.
Reception
Box office
The film grossed $149,260,504 in North America, and $405,726,973 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $554,987,477. It is the eleventh highest-grossing film of 2011 and is also the third highest-grossing animated film that year behind Kung Fu Panda 2 ($665.7 million) and Cars 2 ($559.9 million).
In North America, the film topped the box office on its opening day with $9.6 million. On its opening weekend, the film made $34,077,439, topping Saw III's record ($33.6 million) for the highest Halloween weekend opening ever. It retained first place during its second weekend, with $33,054,644, declining only 3%.
Outside North America, on its opening weekend, it earned second place with $17.2 million. The film opened at #1 in both the UK with a weekend gross of £1.98 million ($3.1 million) and Australia, with $2.98 million. It topped the box office outside North America on its seventh weekend with $47.1 million from 40 countries. It ranks as the ninth highest-grossing film of 2011 outside North America. Its highest-grossing country after North America was Russia and the CIS ($50.6 million), followed by Germany ($33.9 million) and France and the Maghreb region ($33.2 million).
Critical response
Puss in Boots received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 86%, based on 155 reviews. The audience approval rating is 67%, based on 50,000+ ratings. The critical consensus reads, "It isn't deep or groundbreaking, but what it lacks in profundity, Puss in Boots more than makes up for with an abundance of wit, visual sparkle, and effervescent charm." On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the film holds a score of 65 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore awarded the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.
Trivia
- It is a spin-off movie of the Shrek franchise.
- A sequel titled Puss In Boots: The Last Wish was released in 2022.
- A spin off series to this film, The Adventures of Puss in Boots premiered on Netflix on January 16, 2015.